Pope Francis reflected in the General Audience this Wednesday, May 1, on the virtue of faith, which we can live “thanks to the gift of God.”
Below is the complete catechesis of the Holy Father:
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today I would like to talk to you about the virtue of faith. Like charity and hope, this virtue is called “theological” because we can only live it thanks to the gift of God. The three theological virtues are three: faith, hope and charity and they are the great gifts that God gives to our moral capacity. Without them, we could be prudent, just, strong and temperate, but we would not have eyes that see even in the darkness, we would not have a heart that loves even when it is not loved, we would not have a hope that dares against all hope.
What is the faith? The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that faith is the act by which the human being freely surrenders to God. In this faith, Abraham was our great father. When he agreed to leave the land of his ancestors to go to the land that God would show him, he probably judged himself crazy: why leave the known for the unknown, the certain for the uncertain? Why does he do that? “He is crazy.”
But Abraham sets off, as if he saw the invisible. This is what the Bible says about Abraham, “he sets out as if he saw the invisible.” That’s nice. And it will continue to be the invisible that makes him climb the mountain with his son Isaac, the only son of the promise, who will only be freed from the sacrifice at the last moment. With this faith, Abraham becomes the father of a long line of children. Faith has made him fruitful.
Moses was also a man of faith, who, accepting the voice of God even when more than one doubt could assail him, remained firm trusting in the Lord, and even defended the people who so often lacked faith.
Woman of faith will be the Virgin Mary, who, upon receiving the Angel’s announcement, which many would have rejected as too demanding and risky, responds: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord: let it be done to me according to your word” ( Lk 1:38). . With her heart full of trust in God, Mary embarks on a path of which she knows neither the route nor the dangers.
Faith is the virtue that makes a Christian. Because being a Christian is not above all accepting a culture, with the values that accompany it, but rather welcoming and guarding a bond: God and I, my person and the kind face of Jesus. This bond is what makes us Christians.
Regarding faith, an episode from the Gospel comes to mind. Jesus’ disciples are crossing the lake and are surprised by a storm. They believe that they will be able to get ahead with the strength of their arms, with the resources of their experience, but the boat begins to fill with water and they panic (cf. Mc 4:35-41). They do not realize that they have the solution before their eyes: Jesus is there with them, in the boat, in the middle of the storm, and Jesus sleeps, the Gospel says. When they finally wake him up, scared and even angry because they believe that He is letting them die, Jesus rebukes them: “Why are you afraid? Do n’t you still have faith? ” ( Mk 4:40).
Here, then, is the great enemy of faith: not intelligence, not reason, as unfortunately some continue to obsessively repeat, but the great enemy of faith is fear. Therefore, faith is the first gift that must be welcomed in the Christian life: a gift that must be welcomed and asked for every day, so that it may be renewed in us. Apparently it is a small gift, but it is the essential one.
When our parents took us to the baptismal font, they announced the name they had chosen for us, and then the priest asked them: “What do you ask of the Church of God?” And they answered: “Faith, baptism!” For a Christian father, aware of the grace that has been granted to him, this is the gift that he must also ask for for his child: faith. With it, a father knows that, even in the midst of life’s trials, his child will not drown in fear. Here is the enemy, fear. He also knows that, when he stops having a father on this earth, he will continue to have God the Father in heaven, who will never abandon him. Our love is fragile, only the love of God conquers death.
Of course, as the Apostle says, faith is not for everyone (cf. 2 Thes 3:2), and even we, who are believers, often realize that we only have a small reserve. Jesus could frequently rebuke us, like his disciples, for being “men of little faith.” But it is the happiest gift, the only virtue that we are allowed to envy. Because whoever has faith is inhabited by a force that is not only human; In fact, faith “raises” grace in us and opens our minds to the mystery of God.
As Jesus once said, “If you had a little faith like a mustard seed, you could say to that mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (Lk 17, 6). That is why we, like the disciples, also repeat: Lord, increase our faith! (cf. Lk 17,5). It is a beautiful prayer, let us all say it together: “Lord, increase my faith.” Very weak, stronger: “Lord increase my faith!”, Thank you.